Death of the Orchid
by ein Berliner
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission without him. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate? (yaoi, YxA, and others) Chapter 5 finally up!
1. The Orchid and Its Fragrance Die

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the many(possibly many...) anime that will eventually appear in this fic, I just borrow the characters and places is all.  
  
Title: Death of the Orchid  
  
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze  
  
Beta Reader: need one...anyone? Please?  
  
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.  
  
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^  
  
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?   
  
Pairings: YoujixAya(Ran) definite. Others possible, will consider all requests.  
  
A/N   
  
This collaboration fic between me and my friend, Binji Kaze, is going to be odd and long. We hope those of you who start it stick with it. We're going to (try) to keep this A/N short, but it may not be. We want to say some things before you go on to read, because without being said, you'll get confused.   
  
This is a crossover fic. Currently, Weiß Kreuz, Yami no Matsuei, and Gravitation are definites. Weiß will be the largest factor in this fic. You don't have to watch the other two anime to understand this, because we'll wind up explaining a lot of things from them in this, since characters from the other anime will need to know. We have some original characters, who, upon request, we'll give information about. We don't want to take up too much space. We have foreign languages spoken in this. There IS a reason for it all, but it won't be explained until WAAAA~Y further up the road. The chapters will tend to be short, because, well, we like writing short chapters. If people start needling us, we'll make them longer. Think that's all for now, so read and enjoy! Please review, too, because this is an experiment of ours, we want to know how it goes.  
  
******  
  
Chapter 1: The Orchid and its Fragrance Die  
  
"I HATE my brother!!" The exclamation was heard from the back of the classroom.  
  
In the back of the room sat five semi-Gothic juniors. The remark was made by the only female of the group. She had long, black, straight hair and amber contact-tinted eyes. Her outfit consisted of a tight, black leather zip-up shirt and black flared leather pants. She wore boots along with several spikes, chains, and ballchains which adorned various parts of her body. Her friends stared at her, slightly amused.   
  
"And why would that be, Kaori?" Her red-haired friend spoke, joviality clear in his voice. He wore a tight, black tank-top with words written across it. The shirt read 'I HAVE GONE TO FIND MYSELF. IF I GET BACK BEFORE I RETURN, KEEP ME HERE.' His pants were black and extremely baggy, buckles running down the sides. His buckled boots were heavy, and he, too, wore a large amount of Gothic jewelry.   
  
"He says I'm trouble! Like he should talk," she rambled on, ignoring her friend.  
  
"What did he do this time?" Her crossdressing friend, Botan, asked. His hair was light blue and his attire was composed of a Gothic style dress, black platform boots, and various accessories.  
  
Lowering her voice drastically, Kaori explained that her brother Sho had got into trouble with a group of guys, and how she was going to try to get him out of it later on that week. She had asked if any of them wanted to come along with her and help. It ended up that Toge and Botan were doing something together, and that Bara's mom was making him do something with her. That left Ran, the redhead, as the only one to go with her.  
  
******  
  
Aya slipped on his trenchcoat, tucking his sword safely inside before closing it. He sighed, shutting his eyes, not sure why he was thinking about his high school days. Especially not those days. He opened his eyes, peering around his room. He was all set for the mission, and it didn't seem like it was going to be pleasant. There were still twenty minutes left until he had to meet the others downstairs. He sat down on his bed, his thoughts wandering once more to his past.  
  
******  
  
Kaori was at Ran's house, getting ready with him to confront the people her brother had gotten into trouble with. They wore their favorite trenchcoats, stuffing various weapons into them. Ran favored a daishou, several tobi-kunai, a kusari-gama, and a set of tonfas. Kaori had a katana, tobi-kunai, two shuriken, and a kusari-gama. They stepped out of his house, heading for Ran's black BMW sports convertible.  
  
"I hate you, did you know that?" Kaori asked, referring to the ownership of such a car. Ran just smirked in reply, getting into the driver's seat, and slipping the keys into the ignition. They drove off, as the crazy, manical people that they were.  
  
"Do you know where we're going?" Ran asked with a questioning look on his face.  
  
"DO YOU REALLY THINK I'M THAT BIG OF A MORON?!" Asked the peeved Goth. "As a matter of fact, yes, I do know where we're going." With that, she told him the directions, and they got there in half the time it took any normal person.  
  
They arrived in front of an overly large deserted warehouse. "Well, we're here," the well-armed female Goth said.  
  
"Regretting it, are we?" asked Ran.  
  
"NOOO!!!" She retorted, "I have to get him out of this. He's not capable of doing it himself, you should know that by now. You've known him long enough. He's a moron."  
  
"All right, all right. What are we going to do? We need to have a plan."  
  
"Go in and talk with them," Kaori answered. She turned on her heel and walked towards the building, not waiting for an answer, expecting him to follow. He did so, but mumbling about how they should have a plan the whole way and further.  
  
Kaori stopped in front of the enterance and turned to wait for Ran, tapping her foot impatiently. "We should just tie up your brother, put a shock collar on him so can't return here. Train him. That'd be safer," the red-head muttered, glaring daggers at his poorly prepared friend.  
  
"Sorry, no can do. This will be soo~ much more fun," she said, smirking. Ran rolled his eyes and pushed open the door, slipping in silently. Kaori followed, an excited bounce in her steps. The adreniline was pumping and her mind was confusing it for happiness. The was bound to be a good fight.  
  
******  
  
Muttering under his breath, Aya noticed the time. He stood up an left his room, walking downstairs. He had a bad feeling about this mission. Or perhaps it was just his flashbacks worrying him. Oh well, there was no point in worrying now. Just have to complete the mission successfully.  
  
Aya met the others int he kitchen, and the four silently walked out into the garage. Youji and Aya slipped into the Seven while Ken and Omi both rode on Ken's motorcycle. As they were driving, Aya continued to think about the past.  
  
******  
  
A bunch of people were gathered int he room. Most were men, but a few were female. The girls appeared to be girlfriends of the guys there. That, or they were just sluts.  
  
"Hi guys! This is where you go to sign up to a join a group of malicious, psychotic criminals who like to rope in and destroy perfectly innocent people, right? Or is that the next building down?" Kaori called out cheerfully to the people, who were obviously those they were looking for.  
  
Sho was there, and he was startled. "Kaori, the hell're you doin' here?!" He yelled at her, incredulous. "It's dangerous!"  
  
"We know, that's why we're here. To get you out this, Sho," Ran's voice was cold and precise, his eyes narrow in calculation. Kaori spared him a glance, surprised by the change in attitude. She had never seen him like that, and she decided that that side of him was perfect for things like this.  
  
"Get out of here, or we'll have you killed," one of the men, most likely the leader, ordered, snapping his fingers. Kaori and Ran were surrounded by men pointing guns at them, and they didn't look like they were joking.  
  
"Fuck." The one word uttered by Kaori summed up their situation pretty well. Fuck indeed.  
  
******  
  
The mission wasn't going well. The enemy had a lot more opposition than originally thought. Abyssinian stood, surrounded by people. He sliced at them, trying his damnedest to stay alive, or at least bring a large amount of them down with him. Not good. Fuck.  
  
******  
  
Sho stood in front of his sister, arms outstretched. "She's my sister! Don't hurt her, please!" Kaori stared at him, amazed and slightly touched by this display of concern. "She may be a pain in the ass, a freak, and a nutcase, not to mention a bitch and a whore...But sti--!!," he was cut off abruptly as the chain of a kusari-gama was wrapped around his throat.  
  
"Thanks, /Sho/, but we don't need your help," she growled under her breath, releasing the chain when he started turning blue.  
  
Ran rolled his eyes and shook his head as the others in the room burst out laughing. Well, everyone except those pointing the guns at the teenagers.  
  
The leader stopped laughing and turned serious. "Kill them. Including the brother."  
  
Bullets flew towards the three in the center of the room. Ran and Kaori covered themselves with their trenchcoats as Sho curled into a ball on the floor. The turrent ceased and Sho, like the moron he was, stood up wearily. A man aimed a baretta for his heart. Seeing this, Kaori shoved her brother out of the way, the bullet burrying itself in her temple.  
  
Ran let out a string of curses, knowing she was dead, but not letting it affect him yet. They went there to get Sho out of trouble, so Ran decided it would be done, even if it killed him. He threw several tobi-kunai, killing a few, injuring others. The red-head grabbed Sho, who was now crying, and got him out of the building.  
  
The trenchcoat clad teenager threw his burden into the passenger seat, hopped into the drver's seat, and drove off like a bat out of hell. Sho continued crying, muttering about how it was all his fault. Ran glared at the road, blaming it. This was not good. It was his fault, he should have talked her out of it. He would have to live with the death of his best friend for the rest of his life. Quoting her, he growled out a single word. "Fuck."  
  
******  
  
Abyssinian swore, bullets hitting him despite his caution. He spun around to kill the man behind him and a bullet ripped through his ungaurded chest to pierce his heart. The man lost his head and Aya slipped to the ground, holding his wound that released copius amounts of blood.  
  
"Fuck," he muttered, his voice transmitting through to the other Weiß boys. He caughed up blood, on his knees, bent over at the waist.  
  
Bombay's voice crackled in his ear, "Abyssinian! What's wrong?!"  
  
"I'm down. Continue on the mission without me. Don't come back. Bullet to the heart," he uttered, chocking on his blood.  
  
"Fuck!" He heard Balinese swear. He smirked at that word, then died. His eyes slipped closed and he released the last of his breath. That was it for him. He was finally dead.  
  
Youji, Ken, and Omi ran into the room, quickly dispensing of the remaining opponents. Youji arrived at Aya's body first, and he turned the man over so he could see the face. Tears streamed down his cheeks, dripping onto the Aya's lifeless expression. The blood on his face turned watery and ran down to drip on the floor.  
  
"Aya-kun...," Omi's voice was chocked and he, too, was crying. Ken put an arm around his shoulder and dragged the smaller teammate close to him, hugging him. He held back his tears, and was surprised to see Youji crying so much. Judging from the few intelligible words the tall blond spoke, he had loved the man. This came as a shock to Ken, and he began to feel terribly sorry for Youji.  
  
Eventually they managed to leave the building, bringing the body with them. Kritiker held a more or less private funeral for him, since Aya had been considered dead anyways. Aya-chan attended the funeral without crying, Sakura was there, too, but she was crying a lot.  
  
Youji locked himself in his room, refuisng to see anyone. Omi would leave food outside his door and it would be eaten, but barely so. Kritiker gave the boys a month to grieve before sending them on missions again. Youji's behavior began to resemble what Aya's had been, and the other two held a new respect and understanding for their lost teammate.  
  
The mission assigned to them after their month was over seemed as though it would be long. As soon as they figured out who exactly the target was it would be simple enough to kill him, her, them, whatever it may be. Unfortunately, they would have to spend time in the spotlight. They would have to become a band.  
  
******  
  
A/N  
  
How was it for a start? Hopefully you liked it. It kind of died at the end of the chapter, that was a hard situation to write, very unused to it. There is a reason for Aya-chan not crying, and, well, yeah. There are reasons for pretty much everything here.  
  
The title of the story, as you may know, refers to Ran's death. The title of the chapter refers to Ran and Kaori's deaths. Kaori means fragrance so...yeah. The next chapter shouldn't take too long, I get bored enough in Spanish, Latin, English (too..many...languages!!), Chemistry, Advanced Algebra, and...and...World Civ. II...that I write a lot. Then I let Binji read and she does some minor editing, feeds me ideas, and we write more together. We tend to write together on the phone so...yeah. There's some major editing that needs to be done but I wanted this posted so...yeah. Hope you enjoyed. Hope you will continue to enjoy. Please, give feedback! We want to know what you think, and how you think this should continue! Inspire us! Feed us! I'll shut up now... 


	2. The Fallen Angel Plays Before the Cross ...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the many(possibly many...) anime that will eventually appear in this fic, I just borrow the characters and places is all.  
  
Title: Death of the Orchid  
  
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze  
  
Beta Reader: need one...anyone? Please?  
  
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.  
  
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^  
  
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?   
  
Pairings: YoujixAya(Ran) definite. Others possible, will consider all requests.  
  
A/N  
I'm truly sorry for how long it took to get this chapter written. It's been busy, I'll tell ya that much. I'll just let you continue with reading the fic now, and talk later. Sorry, once more! Please, enjoy! Oh...and one more thing! I know next to nothing about bands and the likes. What little I know I have gathered from Gravitation, Kaikan Phrase, and my friend's brother (he told me the difference between regular guitar and bass guitar, other than the obvious sound which I knew and he knew I had to know). So, please don't hurt me if I get things wrong, just tell me and I'll correct them. Okay? Okay! Thank you all, and remember, I don't mind being educated and I definitely don't mind reviews so....review!! Please!  
  
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Chapter 2: The Fallen Angel Plays Before the Cross and Darkness is Born  
Cherry blossoms swept through the area, covering the sky with their pretty pinks, whites, and reds. Their sweet scents filled his nose as he came to. He lay on soft, dew damp grass. Sitting up, he looked around blearily. In front of him was a reflecting pool and Japanese palace. To his sides, and altogether all around, were cherry trees in bloom.  
  
--But...I thought it was winter...?-- Aya stood up and brushed himself off. His wounds were healed and his clothes repaired. Glad to see he was still in his mission attire, katana included, he relaxed the tiniest amount and began to look around.  
  
"Guten Morgen, Kleiner!" A familiar voice rang out as a rather familiar girl threw herself at him.  
  
"Kaori?" He was shocked, just staring at the girl who had hit the ground when he dodged away.  
  
Pouting, she glared up at him as she stood, brushing the dirt away from her person. "How mean! How could you let a poor, weak, innocent girl such as myself to fall to the ground?!"  
  
"Hn...," he spared her a brief glare before he resumed his search of the area. "I thought you were dead?" He really didn't want to know, but he had to ask.  
  
Looking at him solemnly, she nodded. "So are you." Aya glared at her, his piercing eyes demanding she explain. "Look, Ran,"  
  
"It's Aya."  
  
"What? I wasn't..."  
  
"My name is Aya." The glare had intensified and she shuddered, not used to seeing such emotion from him.  
  
Nodding, she continued, "Anyways. If you're HERE it means there's something in life you regret. Something you left unfinished on Earth."  
  
"What?" Now he was beyond pissed. His voice held so much venom that even an elephant would keel over and die if it heard him speak.  
  
Looking away from him, she continued as best she could. "I don't know. And if you don't either, then you could have left someone you loved, or someone who loved you wants you back too much to let go."   
  
He muttered under his breath, cursing. He had no clue who would hang onto him so much, and he loved no one but his sister...right? He sighed and looked at her once again, anger abated. "What now?"  
  
Sighing and smiling in relief, she beckoned him to follow her to the building. "To decide where to go. We can either help you to the next step, or you could become a Shinigami."  
  
"Shinigami?" He was curious, but only let a small amount of that enter his voice.  
  
Kaori smirked as they walked to the palace. "Yeah. We help lost spirits find their way, and kill rogues of our world and theirs. Not regular criminals, but those that disrupt Meifu." Her smirk had turned bitter. It was obvious she didn't enjoy the killing part. "Oh, and 'fore you ask, this world is Meifu. Our particular section, where we are now, is Ju-Oh-Cho. We're the summoner's division. We can summon the Shikigami which we attain. Got it?"   
  
Aya nodded, looking around when they entered the building, instinct for him by this time. Glancing over at him, she shook her head. "Nothing is gonna attack, you know. Oh yeah, if you decide to be a Shinigami, your body will stay the same. You'll never age....I don't know what it's like elsewise"  
  
He just nodded once more and she frowned. "The hell is wrong with you? Do you not talk anymore? Geez!" He just glanced at her and kept a look-out around him. "No smiles, no jokes, you stole your sister's identity, and you're jumpy as all hell!"  
  
"None of that is your business," voice pitched low and dangerous, he gave her another glare before watching his area again.  
  
Kaori looked indignant, and she 'hmph'ed as she opened a door. Inside were many noisy people. The office looked like a zoo, and Aya found himself wishing he was somewhere else.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They sat around the table, discussing their plan while eating take-out. Well, two of them were. The third was just watching solemnly, not talking, not eating, just nodding or shaking his head.  
  
"Youji, how can we have a band if you don't talk? We need you for the mission!" Omi wailed. He knew Youji was deeply hurt over the red head's death, but there wasn't anything they could do. They had to move on, had to follow through with the mission.  
  
The older man just looked away, closing his eyes to hide his pain. Omi continued on, this time more gently. "Youji, we need you to be lead singer. Neither of us can sing at all, really. Okay?" Another nod. He sighed. "Please, talk. Youji..."  
  
Ken put his hand on Omi's shoulder and shook his head. The tall blond stood and made his way upstairs slowly. His teammates watched him, their expressions showing their concern.  
  
"What he's doing to himself isn't good. He's killing himself," Ken stated softly. Omi nodded in agreement.  
  
"He really misses Aya. It's as if...uh...nevermind." Making himself busy, Omi began picking up. It was as if Youji loved Aya. The man was starving himself, clothes that used to be tight now hung loose on his body. The darkness around his eyes showed that he had been getting little or no sleep. His movements were slow, giving off his fatigue.  
  
Ken nodded, knowing what omi was going to say. "Ya know...at night, sometimes, he cries out for Aya. Sometimes he even says that he loves him..."  
  
Silence fell upon the room. The two finished up with the cleaning in the kitchen then went up to bed. What was there to do? How could they help their dispairing teammate? It was bad enough he lost the first person he loved twice, but to also lose the second? It was a miracle he had yet to outright kill himself.  
  
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Introductions over, Aya now sat in Konoe's office. It was the fact that he didn't know what dead people could do that kept him from taking his katana to most of those out there. The man Tsuzuki whined so much it was infuriating and the blond Watari goaded him. Tatsumi and Hisoka hadn't seemed so bad, but with their teasing brought more wailing. And what the hell was up with those bird creatures?!  
  
Sighing, he had himself do some breathing exercises to calm himself down. Konoe stepped in and looked him over. "Welcome to Meifu. I assume you've been gicen your choices?" A nod. "And...?"  
  
"Shinigami." The man was abrupt and to the point. No nonsense, seemed able to handle himself, but...could he get along with the others?  
  
"You sure?" Another nod. Talkative. "All right. You'll be Kaori's partner. The two of youw ill work with Tsuzuki and Hisoka for a time. Mainly for this mission. Do you have any problems with the possibility of killing people?"  
  
Wow, but he could glare. Tsuzuki should be happy that he wasn't the only one with purple eyes. "I'm an assasin. Or was, or still am, I have no clue what tense I should be using at this point."  
  
That bit of digression made Konoe laugh, but he was worried about the first part. Assassin? Could they trust someone who killed for money? The door opened up and Kaori jumped in.  
  
"So?" She smiled happily. Aya wished she would stop, easily annoyed by constantly cheerful people these days. Even Omi wasn't this bad.  
  
Konoe nodded to her. "He shall become a Shinigami, and your partner."  
  
"Yay!" She went to hug Aya again, but he slid out of his chair and dodged away. She glared at him, again, but in no way could it compete with even of a mild glare of his own. He just raised his eyebrows and shook his head.  
  
"Well, you can go now. I'll let you settle down, and tomorrow I'll give the mission," Konoe got up and left after stating that fact.  
  
Aya wanted to protest, but wasn't given the time. He sighed and turned to leave the office. Kaori clung to his arm and peered up at him. "So~! How did you die, if you don't mind my asking. We're friends here, right?"  
  
He sighed again and pried her off of his arm. "I was killed."  
  
"How?" She was shocked, never expecting he would get himself into another dangerous situation.  
  
"I was in a building, at night, trying to kill someone. Security was high, I got shot. Took off his head, though, and my team got out alive. I had taken out the target, too, so I don't care. The risk of death is always there when you're an assassin." He was proud of himself, too, for having taken out the guy that killed him.  
  
She stared at him, incredulous. He was a killer? For money? What the hell happened to the good little Ran she knew?  
  
He walked out of the office and she followed him, shocked. He turned around suddenly and she bumped into him. "I have no idea where the hell I'm going, so you lead the way."  
  
Blinking out of her trance, Kaori stared at him. "I can't believe you....oh, nevermind! Let's go!" She stalked off, leading him out of the building. Aya just followed, not bothering to even care about her actions. So she was angry, too bad. It was better than happy and perky.  
  
Kaori led him to another building, which turned out to be an apartment building. "You can stay here for a week for free, then you can either start paying rent, or buy a place to stay. Meifu is modeled after the entire world, so you can stay at any type of place you want." She waved and left him to settle in.  
  
Wandering around the room he found where everything was. He plopped himself down on the bed, crossing his arms under his head and stared at the ceiling. He let his mind wander to his teammates. How were they doing without him?  
  
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They walked into the Ruido, dressed to play. They had a time slot filled, and they were determined to stand out. Youji carried with him a bass guitar, Omi an electric guitar, and Ken was to use the house's drum set.  
  
They took a seat at a table, Ken and Omi smirking, Youji with a neutral expression. He looked about, observing all the people around. On stage was another 3 person group, setting up to play. Their band consisted of a lead singer, a guitarist, and another on the synthesizer. The lead singer had pink hair, the guitarist red, and the synthesist a dark green.  
  
"Everyone, I hope you'll enjoy! We're Bad Luck, and we're gonna play 'Rage Beat'! So listen up, okay!" The lead singer seemed confident enough. "Now, to introduce us, on guitar, Hiroshi!" He played a little on the guitar, showing his skill. "On the synthesizer, Fujisaki!" Another little piece played. "And I'm the vocalist, Shuichi! Okay! Let's go!"  
  
The beat was catchy, everyone started bobbing their heads or tapping their fingers. Several got up and started dancing to it. Vocals were good too, Youji noted. He sighed. What was he getting himself into here? How could you play good when you didn't WANT it? Oh well, they were committed now, weren't they? He sighed and let the rhythm wash over him, erasing bleak thoughts.  
  
Ken turned to him, smirking. "They're pretty good, ne? We'll beat them though, won't we?" Not getting a response he sighed. "Lighten up, Youji. We're here as much to have fun as we are to perform to get ourselves a name, ya know?"  
  
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"Music?" Tsuzuki blinked, staring at Konoe.  
  
Nodding, Watari picked up. "They're stealing people's souls with their music. It's a slow process, but we believe they're trying to find ways to speed it up. It's through their lives, their instruments pick up the emotion from those around them and absorb the spirits as they play, feeding them"  
  
Aya leaned back against the wall, absorbing all of this. It sounded an awful lot like that one guy who drove people insane with his music. He sighed and shook his head. "Teenagers have the most energy and are the most susceptible to music. Which is why music is such a good way to get these spirits, am I right?"  
  
He was stared at, the others in shock. Mentally he scolded himself for talking. He shouldn't have bothered, barely knowing anything about this place. Watari, Tatsumi, and Konoe nodded their heads slowly, still staring at him in shock.  
  
"That's exactly right, Aya. How did you know?" Watari asked him, truly interested.  
  
He sighed, frustrated with these people already. "I tend to be a fairly intelligent person. Not to mention I have experience with figuring things out." Damn these people. They made him talk an awful lot more than he liked. Kaori smiled, proud of something.  
  
"See? I told you he was smart and would catch on quick!" She laughed and the others glared at her, including Aya.  
  
"Anyways. You have to develop a band and work to get near them. Find out everything you can and take them out." Konoe gave his order and they all nodded, briefing over.  
  
Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and Kaori wandered over to Aya, who continued leaning against the wall. "So, how do we do this?" Kaori asked, looking at the three.  
  
Aya shrugged, then looked everyone over. "Probably would be best if I were vocals. I've had training and experience. Same with song writing for me." They nodded in agreement, not wanting to have those jobs themselves.  
  
Kaori sighed, "I can play guitar." It seemed she really didn't want to, but it would be the best, she figured.  
  
Tsuzuki spoke up, "I'll do drums! And Hisoka can do bass, right?" Hisoka sighed and nodded, deciding not to bother arguing. It was a lot better than synthesizer, anyways. "All right! Let's start practicing!"  
  
Aya glared at him. "What about a name?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"For our band?"  
  
"Oh, uhm...I don't know."  
  
The three sighed, figuring him for useless. Hisoka glared at Tsuzuki. "What good are you?"  
  
"Hey! I can't do everything, you know!"  
  
Kaori shook her head and fixed her hair, annoyed by it. Aya leaned back against the wall, thinking. Opening his eyes, he looked at them. "How's 'Yami no Matsuei'?"  
  
The three stared at him, impressed. Nodding and smiling, they laughed happily. "All right! Yami no Matsuei it is!" Tsuzuki whooped then ran off to catch up to Tatsumi and try to weasle some money for instruments from him. Hisoka chased after his teammate, determined to keep him out of trouble. Kaori smiled at Aya, grateful for him being there now, then walked off to her house.  
  
Aya sighed yet again. He seemed to do that an awful lot these days. Oh well. He took off for his apartment, wanting to get to work on writing music right away, since those things took time. He began wondering why he had to go and die. Being a normal assassin was a lot better than having to deal with the people here.  
  
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Several other bands had played and it still wasn't their turn. One more band before them, and the line-up looked good, now to see if they could play. Five men stood on stage, looking out at the audience. The vocalist, who was just about to begin speaking, had black hair and blue eyes. Two guitarists were up there, one with long purple hair and the other with short, red-dyed hair. A bassist with long, wavy blond locks, and a drummer with brown hair that made him look like a young Reiji Takatori.  
  
"Good evening, everyone. I hope you're having a good time. We're Lucifer, allow me to introduce the members. On guitar, we have Atsuro," the red head, "and Yuki." The two played for a few seconds each after being introduced. "On bass, Towa," another few seconds of play, "on drums, Santa," and another play. "And vocalists, Sakuya. Pleased to meet you," the man sure was a smoothe talker, all the girls were cheering and gathering as close as they could.  
  
"Our song, Datenshi Blue!" The band began playing and they showed their true talent. They had to be the best band up there so far, even more so than Bad Luck. When the vocals started, no one could turn away from them. This was great music, the band poured their all into it.  
  
KIRETA TENSHI TO AKUMA NO  
HAAFU NANDANE ORETACHI  
TSUMI NO DAIYA O SHABUTTA  
HISUTERIKKU NA KUCHIBIRU DE  
  
NAKUSHITA YUME O SAGASU YOU NA KISS  
  
Youji couldn't help but smile, enjoying this music. Excellent lyrics, an awesome arrangement, and what a line-up. It was the best, these people deserved to make it big.  
  
TEJOU HAZUSHITE HOSHIKERYA  
HIPPU MAWASHITE NO DARE YO  
NAIFU NI UTSURU OMAE GA  
ZERII MITAI NI TOROKERU  
  
NAGEKI NO POEMU  
TSUDZURI NAGARA BABY! READY FOR DANCE?  
  
The crowd was cheering and crowding around to get closer. It appeared he wasn't the only one who appreciated this show of true talent. Ken and Omi seemed to be just as enraptured as he was.  
  
TSUBASA NO ATO GA KASUKA NI HIKARU  
DAKISHIME AU TABI  
NAMIDA O HIMETA SONO HITOMI HA  
BLUE....BLUE....DATENSHI BLUE!  
SOU KODOKU NI KAGOETA IRO SA  
YARARERU MAE NI  
AI NI TOBIKOME  
  
The music ended only moments after the vocals, no show, just talent. The music washed over him and he replayed it in his mind, impressed by this reaction their show stirred within him. Getting up with his teammates, they got ready to play. There was no way they could beat those guys, but they were going to give it their all.  
  
Youji got up to the mike, his guitar hanging in front of his chest on its strap. He smiled at everyone and began to talk. "Well, everyone, that was quite the show! I'll say this now, there's no way we can match them! But we're gonna give it our all, okay!" The crowd laughed and smiled. "We're Weiß Kreuz, and we're here to give you a show! On guitar, Omi!" As the other bands did, he played a little on his instrument for show. "Drums, we have Ken!" Another little something. "And for vocals and bass, is me, Youji! All right, everyone! Here's 'The Minority'!"  
  
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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Well...there's that. Sorry it took so long. Uhm, as you can see, we've added another anime to the mix. It's Kaikan Phrase. We couldn't resist, considering our recent obsession with it. Do your best to find the music to it, you won't regret it. The lyrics are from "Datenshi Blue" sung by "Lucifer" for the anime "Kaikan Phrase". The band in Kaikan Phrase are called "Lucifer, the Fallen Angel" though Lucifer for short. The band Lucifer that plays "Datenshi Blue" modeled themselves after Kaikan's Lucifer. I hope I'm not confusing you. *laughs* 'Datenshi' means "Fallen Angel", okie? Uhmm...translation for the lyrics....let's see....  
  
WE'RE ALL HALF-ANGEL  
HALF-DEVIL THAT BECOME ANGRY  
SUCKING THE DIAMONDS OF SIN  
WITH FEVERISH LIPS  
  
THE LOST DREAM  
LIKE SEARCHING FOR A KISS  
  
IF YOU WANT ME TO REMOVE THE HANDCUFFS  
ROLL YOUR HIPS AND BEG  
YOUR REFLECTION IN MY KNIFE  
MELTS AWAY LIKE JELLY  
  
A POEM OF SORROW  
WHILE WRITING IT, BABY! READY FOR DANCE?  
  
THE REMAINS OF MY WINGS SHINE WEAKLY  
WHEN WE EMBRACE  
THOSE EYES HOLDING BACK TEARS ARE  
BLUE....BLUE...FALLEN ANGEL BLUE!  
LIKE THE COLOR OF FROZEN LONELINESS  
BEFORE WE ARE DESTROYED   
DIVE INTO LOVE  
  
And for the name of Aya and them's band, "Yami no Matsuei". Other than it's the name of the anime Tsu-chan and the others of Meifu (minus, Kaori, of course) come from, it means "Descendents of Darkness," so, I thought it would be cool. Speaking of "Descendents of Darkness," the first 3 eps or so of Yami no Matsuei are available in America now, under that name, the volume is called "Vampire's Lure". If you haven't seen the anime, I suggest you buy it. It's a great anime, and a helluva a lot better than they make it sound on the back of the box! Okay!  
  
Let's see the reasons for this taking so long...Martial Arts, school work, driver's ed, marching band, chores, and my family likes to drag me around. So...considering all but driver's ed are still going on, there may be a long time for the next chapter, but I'm getting pretty into it, so maybe not. Also, the video game Kingdom Hearts. I cannot begin to tell you how great a video game that is. You HAVE to get it if you have a PS2, it's the best! I JUST beat it, and I must say, wow. That was a great game. Although...nah, I won't say it....it could spoil the ending. Ah, but I have an undying love for Riku, Cloud, Sephiroth, and Squall(Leon).....Anyways. *laughs* 


	3. And so, Those of the Cross Meet One of t...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the many(possibly many...) anime that will eventually appear in this fic, I just borrow the characters and places is all.  
  
Title: Death of the Orchid  
  
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze  
  
Beta Reader: need one...anyone? Please?  
  
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.  
  
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^  
  
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?   
  
Pairings(Eventual and/or current): YoujixAya(Ran) definite. Shuichi/Yuki(most likely). Others possible, will consider all requests.  
  
Anime Involved So Far:  
Weiß Kreuz  
Yami no Matsuei  
Gravitation  
Kaikan Phrase  
Any requests?  
  
A/N  
I do so hope you people have caught onto the fact that my chapter titles are plays on names. *laughs* If anyone noticed this, but may not have understood it, or didn't notice and want an explaination on them, feel free to ask.   
This is the fastest update in my life. *laughs* You people ought to feel special. ^_^ That is, if you actually like it, and aren't just reading it so you can make fun of my lack of talent. Heh. Well, anyways...Not much to say here. Except...Enjoy!  
  
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Chapter 3: And so, Those of the Cross Meet One of the Dark Descendents Once More  
  
Sighing, Aya looked at his new teammates. What he wouldn't give for Weiß back, even Omi on a sugar-rush was better than this. Especially that Tsuzuki. How did Hisoka stand him? The man was frustrating as hell! And Kaori, though the same as always, got on his nerves more than she ever did before. Oh well, he had changed a lot, he knew that.  
  
He had just given them the music for their parts in the song he wrote. They were staring at the scores, confused. Figuring they'd never seen music written before, he sighed yet again. This was going to be a long day, just teaching them how to read the music and play their selected instruments. He started with Kaori and Hisoka, giving them a few basic notes, before moving on to Tsuzuki to show him what he had to do.  
  
Kaori turned to Aya after mastering what he had given her. "When do we get to hear the lyrics to the song?"  
  
"When you learn how to play it and I'll have proper back-up," his voice was cold, daring her to continue. She just 'hmph'ed as she often did and tossed her hair to show her indignation. He glared at her, then went back to showing Tsuzuki, playing a small but fairly difficult piece on the drums.  
  
Hisoka turned to him and spoke up. "I'm done learning this bit, can you show me more now?" Aya nodded to him and handed the drum sticks over to Tsuzuki. This was going to be a long, long day.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The song had been a hit, the patrons of the Ruido had loved it. They were going to perform another live there in a week, which gave them a small amount of time to try and write a new song, but most likely they'd wind up playing "The Minority" again.  
  
Ken smiled at Youji, who actually gave a tiny smile back. Omi grinned, happy to see that at least a small bit of Youji had returned with the live. The older man had seemed so alive while singing and playing, it had been incredible. His vocals were excellent, even with all the screaming that song required.  
  
"Good morning, Youji! How are you?" Omi asked, cheerful.  
  
Youji looked at him and nodded slightly in answer. It seemed he was back to being silent. Oh well, the smile had been enough of an improvement for one day, they couldn't expect too much. Ken grabbed the food that was on the table, now that everyone was in the kitchen. It had taken him a moment to remember that three people was all, these days, which had been cause for the delay in him eating. The other two took their seats and plates, filling them with as much as they could eat, and began clearing it off.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"All right! I think I've got the piece down!" Kaori exclaimed, ecstatic. Aya had Tsuzuki and Hisoka stop playing so he could hear her play it by herself. He nodded as she played, eyes closing as he compared what was being played to what was written mentally. When she stopped, he looked at her and nodded.  
  
"It's good. Not perfect, but good. You've got the notes down but in the middle you lost your beat for a moment, though that won't happen with a good drum beat in the background. Keep practicing," he turned back to the other two and started working on them. Hisoka was almost done, but Tsuzuki was being difficult. How hard could it be? He hadn't given him THAT difficult of a piece to play on the drums.   
  
Kaori stuck her tongue out at Aya when he turned his back, and Tsuzuki giggled and grinned. She smirked back at him and continued practicing her part, wanting it perfect, not good. They hoped that by the end of the day they would be able to play it and add the vocals soon, but Tsuzuki needed to get his part straight.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Once more, they sat at a table in the Ruido, Youji and Omi with their instruments at their sides. It seemed that those two bands that stood out last time, Bad Luck and Lucifer, weren't there that day. They looked around at everyone around them, keeping an eye out for anyone that happened to look suspicious.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They stood outside of the livehouse, Hisoka and Kaori holding their instruments. Tsuzuki smiled and looked at his three friends. "Well, here we go! Now to see if we're any good!"  
  
Aya nodded, along with Kaori and Hisoka. The four of them walked into the Ruido, where they were already slotted to play that night. They hoped they would be a hit, wanting to make it big quick so they could just get this over with. Aya already had several songs written, but only one had they actually practiced, which they were going to perform that night.  
  
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Youji was watching the door, monitoring the people who walked in and out of the livehouse. A group of four entered and he nearly dropped the cup he was holding. Ken and Omi looked at him, worried. "Youji, what is it?" Omi asked, concern clear in his voice.  
  
He pointed to the door and Ken and Omi gasped. Was that Aya, with those other three people? It looked exactly like him, from the natural red hair, to the stoic expression, and the 'touch-me-and-die' stance. But he was dead, they knew that. They held the funeral for him, and buried him, the works.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Gazing around the room as was second nature to him, Aya couldn't help but stare for a few moments when he spotted a table of three. The three sitting there were his old teammates. And they were staring at him, too. Shit, he thought, not good.  
  
Kaori put her hand on his shoulder and looked at him, confused. "Is something wrong, Aya?" The man shook his head, as she had expected him to. She muttered under her breath about stubborn red-heads and glanced away, angry at him. He looked around, keeping himself occupied, not wanting to draw attention to them.  
  
Tsuzuki leaned down and whispered in his ear. "There's a tall blond heading our way. He's looking straight at you, Aya."  
  
Aya glared up at Tsuzuki. "That's because he knows me."  
  
"Friend?"  
  
"You could say that," he managed to get out that last sentence before he was grabbed by the shoulder and turned around.  
  
Green eyes bore into him as Youji stared at him in surprise and wonder. "Aya?"  
  
Nodding curtly, he brushed the hand off of his shoulder and glared at Youji. "Who did you think I was, Schuldig?"  
  
Youji smiled and hugged him, lifting the smaller man off the ground. Aya let the man do it, not wanting to cause a scene and blow their cover by killing him. "You're an idiot, Kudou. Let go of me."  
  
"But, you--mmph!" A slender hand covered his mouth and two sets of violet eyes, a set of green, and blue eyes glared at him to be quiet.  
  
"I'll explain in a less crowded space at a more opportunistic time. For now, considering our little scene, we may as well sit with you and the others," Aya was cool and calculating as always. Youji nodded, smiling happily.  
  
"I'm not going to ask how, at least not right away, but I am sure as hell glad you're back, Aya!" Youji threw his arm around the red-head's shoulders and led him over to the table with Ken and Omi. Surprised he wasn't dead yet, Youji made sure Aya sat next to him, and that their chairs were very close.   
  
Omi, knowing better than to ask about his dead teammate's not-quite-so-dead appearance, smiled at him. "What brings you here, Aya?"  
  
"Business. You?"  
  
"Same," Ken said, looking at him. "Great to see you again."  
  
Tsuzuki, Hisoka, and Kaori were all clearly surprised by the calmness of Aya's "friends". Since when did people hold normal conversations with those they believed dead?  
  
Youji, having kept his arm on Aya's shoulders, squeezed lightly and got glared at in response. "You going to introduce us to your friends?"  
  
Sighing, the red-head nodded and motioned to each friend as he named them. The three members of Weiß nodded to each person and they nodded back, being polite as they did so. He then turned and introduced his former teammates to his current ones, then fell into silence. Conversation began between all the non-vocalists at the table, while Youji continued to hold Aya.  
  
Aya glared at the blond, "Kudou, what exactly is with you and treating me like a plushie?"  
  
Youji grinned and hugged him tighter. "Awww, but you make such a cute little plushie, Aya-chaaa~n."  
  
Kaori raised her eyebrows and turned to Aya curiously. "Dein Liebchen?"  
  
Aya sputtered and glared at Kaori, pissed at her for even suggesting such a thing. "Mein LIEBCHEN? Nein!" She laughed at him, reveling in the furious expression on his face. "Du bist töt!"  
  
She nodded and grinned. "Ja, ich bin töt, na klar."  
  
He muttered under his breath, not meaning it the way she replied to him, then he returned to glaring at Youji, who was staring at him confused. "You! Stop hugging me!"  
  
The older man failed to comply, but did stare back at him, still confused. "What the hell did you guys just say? And, is it just me, or was that German?"  
  
Aya sighed and covered his face with his hand. "Yes, it was German. And there is no way in hell you're going to get me to translate it."  
  
Kaori smirked and leaned across the table. She smiled at Youji, glancing at Aya to figure out just how pissed off he was going to be. "I just asked him if you were his lover. He said no, but you sure are awfully cuddly to not be lovers. And you're just so CUTE together!" She giggled and backed off before Aya could land a punch on her. Oooh, that was such a potent glare being directed her way.  
  
Tsuzuki looked at his watch and then at the band that was on stage. He turned to Aya and spoke up, "We're up next, Aya, okay?" Aya nodded, grateful for an excuse to worm free of Youji's grasp.  
  
The band finished their gig, and the members of this new, unheard of band, went up. Aya approached the mike and looked out at the audience. "Evening, everyone. How are all of you? We're 'Yami no Matsuei'. Allow me to introduce our members. On guitar, we have Kaori," just as most bands did, she played on her guitar for show, "bass is Hisoka," he paused for the play, "and drums Tsuzuki." After the introductions of the instrumentals, he brought his hand to his chest to indicate himself, "and for vocals, Aya. Our song, 'Beautiful Alone.'" The music started up and Aya looked around the room, getting into the mood set of the song.  
  
TOGE NO ARU KOTOBA DAKE  
KONNO MACHI WA UTSUSHITERU ITSUMO  
MEGURIAU HITO HA NAGARERU  
SHINJITARA KUZURESO  
FUANDAKE DAKISHIMERU HIBIYO  
MOSHIMO KOKONI ANATA GA  
ITARA HANASANAI NONI  
  
Youji, Ken, and Omi stared at Aya, clearly amazed. They never suspected the man was capable of singing so emotionally or perfectly. Even his countenance and movements matched the song perfectly.  
  
TOKEINO OTONI OIKAKERARU  
WASURERUKOTODE KYOU NO HI O  
BOKU WA IKITEIRUYO  
  
ANATA TTO BOKUTONO SABISHISA O  
KASANERU YONI SHITE KUCHIZUKERU  
FUTARI GA ITAMETA KIZU ATO GA  
UTSUKUSII WAKARE O TSUGERU DARO  
  
The crowd was completely enraptured by the emotion put into the song. Aya brought himself nearly to tears singing, getting the full effect of the words and music with his glistening violet eyes.  
  
NAYAMASHI YORU DAKE GA  
AI NO KAGE SHIITE IRU KITTO  
MICHI KAKERU TSUKI O SAMAYO  
EIEN GA OWATTARA  
MUNASHISANI TSUTSUMARU SOTTO  
SORA NI KIERU TSUBAME O TSUBASA BOKU NI ATTARA  
  
He bowed his head low, resting it on the mike. The others played their music solemnly, doing their best at looking depressed.  
  
SHIZUKA NA AMENI YASASHIKU NURERU  
NANIKA O MOTOME SONNO KAWARI  
BOKU WA AI O MAKUSU  
  
ANATA TTO BOKU TTO NO KANASHIMI O  
ITAWARI AUYONI DAKISHIMERU  
FUTARI GA KIZUITA OMOIDE GA  
UTSUKUSHII KODOKU O EGAKUDARO  
  
ANATA TTO BOKUTONO SABISHISA O  
KASANERU YONI SHITE KUCHIZUKERU  
FUTARI GA ITAMETA KIZU ATO GA  
UTSUKUSII WAKARE O TSUGERU DARO  
  
With the end of the song came a few moments of silence. The crowd burst into a sudden roar of applause and cat calls, admiring the band. The song had been incredible, full of emotion. That was a damn good performance of a sad song, if they had ever heard one before. Aya whispered his thanks to the crowd in the mike before he and the others of Yami made their way off the stage.  
  
Making their way back to the table, the instrumentalists were grinning. "So, how was it?" Kaori asked of Weiß, smirking. They were just stared at by wide eyes, and wide open mouths.  
  
Aya took his seat next to Youji and closed the man's mouth before sighing and crossing his arms over his chest. The blond leaned over and whispered in Aya's ear. "That was incredible. I didn't know you could sing so well."  
  
The red-head just glared at the older man for getting so close, and hugged his arms closer to his chest. He glanced around him, gauging the audience's reaction to their performance. Things seemed to be going well for them. He hoped they would continue to do so.  
  
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A/N  
Well, how was it? As always, please review. Heh. ^_^ And for Lady Dragon, I had Aya sing 'Beautiful Alone', which is such a sad song, too, ne? I love it though, it is great.   
  
Forgot to translate last chapter...  
Translation for the German(chapter 2):  
"Guten Morgen, Kleiner!" -- "Good morning, little one!"  
  
Translation for the German(chapter 3):  
"Dein Liebchen?" -- "Your lover?"  
"Mein LIEBCHEN? Nein!" -- "My LOVER? No!"  
"Du bist töt!" -- "You're dead!"  
"Ja, ich bin töt, na klar." -- "Yes, I'm dead, of course."  
(sorry, my German knowledge is limited to pretty much everything used here *laughs* I know the useful stuff, don't I?)  
  
Translation for 'Beautiful Alone':  
To every life, there's always an end,  
But I close my eyes, I still see your face; beautiful...  
And I throw a rose as they now lower you down  
But I still believe I'll see you again  
I wait for the day that I can once more hold you tight  
Until then, I can't cry this pain away  
Until then, memories are all I have...   
  
How I long for one more kiss, just to hold you once again  
How I long to hear you say "our love's eternal, never will I leave from by  
your side..."   
  
I go my way, I journey on, now 'til forever  
With the memory of our last kiss to keep me going  
And though I am alone again, I shed not a tear  
How beautiful is my loneliness, how great is my pain...   
  
As night skies arrive, the heartache begins  
For in every dream, the image of you lingers still  
So I walk alone, sleepless, guided by the moon  
I know I'll give to eternal sleep,  
And when that day comes, I'll never again let you go  
I'll pretend that I'm not about to cry  
I'll pretend that these tears are only rain   
  
As I lie awake at night, listening to this quiet rain  
As I bow my head in prayer, my wish is that this burning emptiness inside  
would heal...   
  
I close my eyes, I turn around, and go on my way  
With the dream that somewhere out there, love, you wait for me, too  
And though I am alone again, I shed not a tear  
How beautiful is my loneliness, how great is my pain...   
I go my way, I journey on, now 'til forever  
With the memory of our last kiss to keep me going  
And though I am alone again, I shed not a tear  
How beautiful is my loneliness, how great is my pain...   
I think I'll start answering reviews now, here in my ending A/N, if anyone gets annoyed by it, tell me and I'll stop. Okay?  
  
Mookie: Thank you! I thought that it would be like...well, anyone, to start acting all withdrawn like Aya always did in a situation like that, so I had Youji do it...I'm glad you agree ^_^ And as for the bands, well, I know they aren't here in this chapter, they'll probably be in the next, I can't leave them by themselves too long, or they'll cause trouble. Heh.  
  
Lady Dragon: You're more than welcome to make requests! I'll listen to them, and probably wind up using them to help get over my own lack of ideas at times ^_^ Thank you for the compliments *bows* Much appreciated  
  
Nurissa-chan: I know it wasn't much of fluff, but will what was here keep you satiated for now? ^_^ More will be coming soon, and more two-sided, too...Perhaps. Depending on my mood, because if I'm extremely angsty, then I'll take it out on the poor characters, heh. As for the anime....do you know all of them? ^_^ I'd be very happy if you did *laughs* I have a hard time finding people who have heard of them. Heh, oh well. Thank you!  
  
Scharlet Rook: ^_^ I like those anime, can you tell? I had to put them together...I couldn't resist. Mm...beta readers are people who do editing and the likes...I meant to see if you would for this chapter, but I got it done and wanted it posted, so...yeah. If you still wouldn't mind, then I'll send the 4th chapter to you when I get it done, okay? Thankies! ^_^  
  
Ryoko Kashino: Isn't Kingdom Hearts the best?! I love it!! Mm...I have both the English and the Japanese versions to Utada Hikaru's song...The Japanese version is called 'Hikari' if you ever want to try to find it. Thank you for the review! ^_^v 


	4. The Soul Hunters Are Brought to Attentio...

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the many(possibly many...) anime that will eventually appear in this fic, I just borrow the characters and places is all.  
  
Title: Death of the Orchid  
  
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze  
  
Beta Reader: need one...anyone? Please?  
  
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.  
  
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^  
  
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiá has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?   
  
Pairings(Eventual and/or current): YoujixAya(Ran) definite. Shuichi/Yuki. TowaxAtsuro(highly likely). Others possible, will consider all requests.  
  
Anime Involved So Far:  
  
Weiá Kreuz  
  
Yami no Matsuei  
  
Gravitation  
  
Kaikan Phrase  
  
Any requests?  
  
A/N: I apologize for this being so late. I've actually had it done for almost two weeks now. Hopefully there aren't any horrible mistakes in it, since I read it over and did editing...Hopefully. Well, I hope you like it. It's the start of Gravi and Kaikan characters as being main characters. ^_^ Enjoy~!  
  
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Chapter 4: The Soul Hunters Are Brought to Attention  
  
The funeral was short, not many were there. The students had paid their respects at the wake, but only a few went to the funeral. Not many people had liked her at school, she only had four friends, three siblings, and her parents. No cousins, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. Just those nine people.  
  
Botan cried as quietly as he could, in Toge's arms. Tears ran down Toge's face silently, as he stared at the coffin solemnly. Bara buried his face in Ran's chest, unable to look without bursting into tears. Ran kept an arm around him as he watched them lower the coffin, the only one without tears.  
  
As they dispersed, Sho went up to Ran. "It's your fault! She should never have died! It was because of you!"  
  
A violet gaze was fixed on him, no emotion shown. "Sho, do you truly believe that? It was because of you that she went there. She pushed you away and got shot. She died protecting you. Do you really think that's my fault?" His voice was as his gaze, making him seem uncaring.  
  
Sho grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close to his face. "Do you even care that she's dead?! You don't seem like you do! Answer me, Ran!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Aya lay on his bed, curled up in a ball. The apartment was small, but comfortable to him. He sighed, wondering what the hell was with the flashbacks. He hated thinking about the past, it always put him into a depression, and he was depressing enough when content.  
  
He closed his eyes, thinking about Weiá. They had seemed happy to see him, but were they just pretending? Youji, he could easily tell, was genuinely glad when he found the redhead to be alive. For some reason, that thought made him happy. Very little could do that. It was because of that happiness that he had let the blond get away with as much physical contact as he had.  
  
He wondered, did they cry at his funeral? Was he the only one who didn't cry at friends' funerals? He had cared, though, despite what he let on. He caused his friends to hate him, separating himself from them. What they didn't understand was that it was because he didn't want to be hurt again. They didn't know just how it felt to have seen his friend die, and not be able to do anything. Not even take the body so there could be something to cremate.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"I can't believe you, Ran! I never thought you could be so heartless!!" Bara screamed, tears streaming down his face. It was a week after Kaori's funeral, and Ran still showed no signs of caring. The smaller boy hit him in the chest, causing him to take a few steps back.  
  
Ran sighed, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground as he took the hit. He didn't know how they couldn't see that he did care. He rarely talked, unless he had to, he showed no emotion and he used to be full of it. He wondered just how it was possible for them to miss that.  
  
Botan walked away, unable to watch his group of friends fall apart. Toge glared at Ran, backing Bara up with his presence. The redhead sighed again and turned away. He left his friends there, to never see them again. He thendropped out of high school, which just caused more problems at home.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Aya was curled into an even tighter ball, eyes shut tight as he tried to keep from thinking too hard about those days. They were completely unpleasant, and he didn't want to remember anymore. He began to wonder if it was possible for the dead to kill themselves.  
  
He buried his head into his knees, not wanting his train of thought to go there. He knew if it lingered there too long that he would try. Instead, he thought about Weiá. More specifically, the thought about Youji. Deciding he wanted to talk to the blond, he stood up and got himself dressed.  
  
His hair, grown out to the point of reaching halfway down his shoulder blades, was pulled back into a neat ponytail, and he wore all black. Finished, he teleported himself into Kudou's room, set to wait until the blond came back. He lay down on the bed that was larger and much less firm than any he had ever slept in before.  
  
He was curious, wanting to look around the room, but he respected Youji's privacy. He restricted himself to just laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He let his mind wonder, so as to think of anything other than they stupidity of his being there. Sighing for the nth time in the day, he drifted off to sleep, not awaking until Youji came.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Youji ate a small dinner, barely talking to Ken and Omi. The first few days after seeing Aya he had been more like himself. With no sign of him a week later, though, he feel back into his depression. As he walked to his room, leaving the two in the kitchen, he started to think about Aya.  
  
He desperately wanted to see the man again. When he opened his bedroom door, his eyes widened as he spotted his bed. He quickly stepped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him. Aya lay on his bed, sleeping. He looked peaceful in his sleep, the constant frown gone from his face.  
  
Youji walked over to the slumbering form with the stealth his occupation required. He kneeled next to the bed and continued to stare at Aya. His hand lifted to brush the long bangs away from the delicate face, and was greeted by the sight of sleepy violet eyes. As the redhead became more awake and aware, the eyes began to lighten to amethyst.  
  
Entranced by the changing color of Aya's eyes, Youji stared at him as he woke up. The redhead yawned and looked at Youji, and as realization of who was staring at him dawned on him, his eyes became almost clear as he gave a small smile.  
  
Swallowing the lump out of his throat, Youji stood up and glanced away. "Hey, Aya."  
  
"Hey," he replied, his voice low and almost teasing as his normal fa‡ade had yet to appear in his tired state.  
  
Youji sat down on his bed by Aya's feet. Aya sat up and crossed his legs, resting his elbow on his knee and chin on hand. "So, Aya, what are you doing here?"  
  
The redhead sighed and began to slip into his normal, stoic self. He knew Youji was still shocked that he was there, but he still felt unwanted by the words. "To talk."  
  
Realizing that the man was losing his good mood, Youji smiled and look at him. "About what?" The two used to talk to each other in their days together as Weiá, finding companionship in their maturity and shared experiences. They understood each other more than Ken or Omi, and could trust each other more than them.  
  
Feeling better after picking up that he was wanted there, he smiled lightly again. "I guess about anything you want. I didn't come with much of a plan."  
  
"Mm, okay," Youji grinned and inched closer to him. Silence fell over them as Youji tried to think of something to talk about. First and foremost in his mind was how it was possible for him to be there, but he didn't want to break the good mood. Unable to think of anything else, he sighed at the thought of bringing it up. "You know I have to ask, Aya."  
  
Aya nodded and leaned back against the headboard, stretching out his legs. "I am dead, but I'm alive at the same time. This is a living body that requires all the same things you do, and holds a soul as well. I'm really the same as you except I heal much faster, and can go much longer without necessities. I can fly, as..ridiculous as that sounds, and teleport myself to anyplace I wish. I can become invisible to the living, and... I think that's about it."  
  
Youji nodded, then smiled a genuinely happy smile. Aya watched him, curious as to what made him so happy. The blond grabbed his arm and yanked, pulling Aya to him. Startled, the redhead allowed himself to be pulled, colliding with his chest. "Kudou, what th-mmph!" His eyes went wide and body stiff as Youji kissed him.  
  
Getting over the initial shock, he pulled away, trembling and trying not to think of how good it had felt. He turned away so that Youji couldn't see his face. He shook from the pleasure he had felt, but was afraid to let himself feel it. Allowing himself pleasure always led to pain, and he always hurt those he cared about.  
  
"Fuck, Aya. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Sorry," he was sorry, too, as he felt like he just ruined his relationship with the smaller man.  
  
Taking in a deep breath to still his shaking, he spoke up. "It's.All right, Youji. Don't worry about it."  
  
Youji looked at him wistfully. He wanted to kiss him again, but didn't care to push things too far. He had a feeling Aya wouldn't be inclined to pay him anymore visits should he act as such again.  
  
"I've got to get to Meifu. I'll see you later, Youji. Feel free to tell Ken and Omi about our conversation," his wording made it clear to Youji that he should not mention the kiss. Not that he would have anyway.  
  
"See you later, Aya," he went unheard, as the redhead had disappeared.  
  
"Youji! Who are you talking to?" Omi called from outside the room.  
  
The lanky man laid himself down on the bed, answering with a solemn "No one," as he did so. The pillows still smelled like the man, comforting him. He fell asleep, thinking about Aya and how sweet he had tasted.   
  
~*~*~  
  
"Where the hell is that bastard?" Kaori stamped around the room, furious. "He was supposed to be here over an hour ago! We need to practice!"   
  
Tsuzuki smiled in the corner, glad to be doing nothing. Hisoka strummed his bass guitar in boredom, adding a solemn note to the room.  
  
Aya walked into the room while fixing his sleep tousled hair. The black-haired girl stormed up to him, red contact-tinted eyes blazing furiously. "Where the hell were you?!"  
  
The redhead glared at her for yelling, but didn't answer. He set up the mike he used for practicing, since the others hadn't out of spite. Kaori huffed, seriously pissed off. "You bastard! God, you at least USED to have manners enough to apologize for being so fucking late!"  
  
"Lay off, Kaori. I'm not in the mood to listen to you bitch at me. I know I've changed, get over it."  
  
Unable to keep a reign on her anger any longer, she exploded. "You fucking bastard! What gives you the right to talk to me like that?! You've been so fucking rude it's unbelievable! Get the stick out of your ass, -Aya-!" She spat out his name with disgust, all but shrieking at him. Hisoka was pressed against the wall in pain from the anger she was emitting and Tsuzuki was covering his ears.  
  
The cause of her anger merely shrugged in response. "Being a cold-hearted bastard works for me. I'm just a murderer. Murderers have no manners. Now, again I say, get over it."  
  
Kaori stormed out of the room, a homicidal expression on her face. Aya just shrugged and decided to leave, though through a different exit. Hisoka sat against the wall, panting from the overload of emotions.  
  
Tsuzuki wandered over to his partner, worried. He knew better than to touch the boy in his state, but felt the need to stay there. "Hisoka, are you all right?" He kept his voice quiet out of fear of aggravating his condition.  
  
A shake of his head sent tears flying as the young blond hugged his legs to his chest. The pain had been nearly intolerable, blood dripped down his chin from biting his lips to keep from screaming in agony. "It was overwhelming. Their anger combined. Both have such strong anger, it hurt so much," his voice broke as he sobbed and choked on tears.  
  
Tsuzuki felt his own anger arise, directed towards the two that caused the green-eyed boy such pain, but when Hisoka flinched, he pushed it away. He concentrated again on comforting the boy, but didn't find it to be working. "Hisoka, you should go to your room and get some rest."  
  
Hisoka nodded and stood up shakily. In order to avoid people, he teleported himself to his room, collapsing onto his bed. He fell asleep quickly, and back in the practice room, Tsuzuki tried to manage his anger.  
  
The week passed with Hisoka in bed and ignoring everyone. Tsuzuki ignored Ran and Kaori in anger, Kaori ignored Ran so as not to kill him, and Ran ignored everyone in reciprocation. Two days after the incident, though, he paid another visit to Youji.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Shuichi sat at a table with his band, manager, and producer, discussing advertisement plans for Bad Luck. More than that came up during their discussion, though, as they thought of a new rival band.  
  
"I don't like that band, what was it called? Tamashii no Ryoushi?" The pink-haired J-rock singer said, muttering under his breath some more of his thoughts. Fujisaki and Hiroshi nodded their agreement. Sakano and K didn't reply, trying not to badmouth another band though their thoughts were much the same.  
  
"I like them even less than ASK. There's just something suspicious about them," the redhead wrinkled his nose in disgust as he mentioned ASK. Shuichi shuddered at the thought of Aizawa Tachi, and what the bastard had done to him.  
  
K decided the group had done enough thinking and talking for the day, and should start practicing. He stood up and looked at the three band members smiling. "Let's go, Bad Luck! We have to work on the songs if we're going to beat Nittle Grasper this year!"  
  
Shuichi brightened at the prospect of singing, and nodded enthusiastically. He, too, stood up, blue eyes shining with determination. "Okay!" He spoke with accented English, "Let's go!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Atsuro lay on the floor in Towa's apartment, rolling from side to side. He was having a hard time sleeping, thinking about the newest band rising in popularity. He was creeped out by the strange happenings to many of those who heard them live. Nothing like that should ever happen.  
  
Towa walked in, holding a mug of steaming tea. He noticed the high schooler was still awake, and stepped over to him. He sat down on the floor next to him and looked down. "Are you all right, Atsuro?"  
  
"I'm fine, Towa. Why are you awake?" He asked with curiosity, wondering if his blond friend was thinking of the same thing.  
  
Smiling lightly, he offered the mug to the redhead before speaking. The boy took the cup and sipped at it quietly, listening to Towa. "I was thinking of the band Tamashii no Ryoushi. There seems to be a lot of strange things happening around them."  
  
Atsuro nodded, "I was thinking about the same thing. Don't you think it's strange, so many people falling into comas after listening to them in live concerts? It's like a warped version of dothack!"  
  
Towa laughed at the simile, finding it amusing that even though it was a serious topic, his friend could still manage to fit a video game into the mix. "Yes, I suppose you could say that," he chuckled some more at the miffed expression on Atsuro's face, clearly not appreciating him finding the comparison amusing. "And yes, it definitely is strange. What I want to know is why haven't the police gotten themselves involved?"  
  
"The police force is lazy these days. Anything short of rape and murder that requires work to solve they just ignore. They really have to start doing their job," he muttered, earning himself yet another grin from Towa. It seemed he was able to amuse the bassist easily, even when he was being serious.  
  
"Yes, well, maybe we should talk about this later, like when we've rested? You've got school tomorrow, you know," he couldn't help but encourage the boy to at least finish his high school education, so as to have something he didn't. He loved playing the bass, but he also wished that he had finished schooling so he could go to college when being in a band no longer payed enough to live.  
  
Sighing, Atsuro nodded and handed the half-empty mug to his friend. "Yeah," he didn't sound at all thrilled at the idea of going to school, "all right. Good night, Towa," he smiled up at the blond as he settled back into the blankets on the floor.  
  
"You know, Atsuro, the couch is there for more than one reason. It's a pull-out, which I think I've told you on numerous occasions."  
  
The redhead laughed and nodded, wrapping himself up in the blankets. "I know, but I've grown attached to the floor."  
  
Grinning, Towa decided to tease him some more, "You mean you fell off the couch one too many times and no longer trust it."  
  
"It tried to kill me, I swear!"  
  
"And what about the pull-out?"  
  
"It bit me!"  
  
The two laughed again, feeling much more light-hearted. Towa stood up, warming his hands by wrapping them around the mug. "G'night, Atsuro."  
  
"Night-night, Towa." The blond left the room, making sure to turn off the lights as he went to his bedroom. Atsuro fell asleep not long after Towa left, more relaxed than he had been before the teasing blond had stopped to talk to him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I hope it was worth the wait. If you couldn't tell, Tamashii no Ryoushi is the name of the band in question. I hope that's correct Japanese grammar...It's supposed to be "Soul Hunter." If anyone knows for sure whether I'm correct or not, please tell me. And if I'm not, please tell me the correct words...*laughs* I do try, but I only have so much knowledge as I've only taken one class and it was all stuff I all ready knew.   
  
Ano...You may have noticed, those who have seen YnM, that I've taken some liberties with the series. I can't remember everything they can and can't do and how things wind up the way they do, so I've altered it to serve my purposes. I hope no one views this as me ruining the series, 'cause that's not what I'm trying to do. Well, please review, let me know just how bad it truly is! *has no confidence* Bai-bai~! 


	5. Foreigners Arrive to Assist in the Case

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the many (possibly many...) anime that will eventually appear in this fic, I just borrow the characters and places is all.  
  
Title: Death of the Orchid  
  
Authors: Crystal Okamino and Binji Kaze  
  
Beta Reader: Ryoko Kashino  
  
Fic Style: Death fic of a sorts. Don't let that scare you, the characters will all stay, even the dead ones.  
  
Genre: Angst, humor, supernatural. How do you get angst and humor in one story? Well, read on and you'll find out. ^_^  
  
Summary: After Aya's death, Weiß has to cope with a mission on their own. But what happens when they meet up with their supposedly dead teammate while doing undercover work as a band?   
  
Pairings (Eventual and/or current): Youji x Aya (Ran). Shuichi x Yuki. Towa x Atsuro. Dee x Ryo(Randy). Others possible will consider all requests.  
  
Anime Involved So Far:  
  
Weiß Kreuz  
  
Yami no Matsuei  
  
Gravitation  
  
Kaikan Phrase  
  
FAKE  
  
Any requests?  
  
A/N: Sorry this took so long, people! I'm a bad girl…When I have nothing to do I do nothing, yet when I have stuff to do, I actually write….Bad me, bad! ^_^ This comes to you with a me in a lot of pain…I've got the bruise on my neck to prove it *sweatdrops* I hope you enjoy!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 5: Foreigners Arrive to Assist in the Case  
  
Youji stood there, completely dumbfounded. Not only had he come across Aya on his bed, willing to talk, two days ago, but it had happened again. The redhead seemed to be in a bad mood, though, and he wasn't so sure that was good or not.  
  
"Hey, there, Aya," he smiled, trying to convey how happy he was to have him there.  
  
"Hn," was the response. Not at all surprising.  
  
The blond walked over to the bed and sat down on the side. "Is something wrong?" Despite the fact that grumpy was his normal attitude, he couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong with the redhead.  
  
He sighed and shifted about so that the blankets covered him and he was curled into a ball. "Aya~! I don't think that's helping!" Youji yanked at the covers and was snarled at. "Geez, did you come here to take over my bed and make me sleep on the couch?"  
  
The words served to remind the redhead that it was nighttime. He let the blond pull the covers from his head and drag him onto his lap. He was tired of thinking and just let the man do what he wanted, within reason, of course.  
  
Youji gently stroked his hair, trying to comfort the man. "Now, what's bothering you?" The question earned another sigh and the man tried to become smaller, snuggling closer.  
  
"I got into a major fight with my teammates," his voice was soft and almost went unheard. Youji blinked, the words making it sound like a high school fight among friends. He wondered how serious the fight was, to make Aya so depressed. "That sounded stupid, I know."  
  
He shook his head and hugged the smaller man close. "No it didn't. Not from you. What happened?"  
  
The fight wasn't what bothered him. It was all of the reminders of his past. "It was pretty stupid, but it had been building up. I don't blame her for flipping out."  
  
"Okay, now you're making it sound as if you don't care about the fight. What is it that's actually bothering you?"  
  
"My past."  
  
That didn't sound good. Whenever Aya thought about his past he always became depressed, often suicidal. He hugged him again and dared to kiss the top of his head. "What about your past?" He was never told anything out-right, made to put the pieces together. All he had gathered was the man loved his sister and loathed his parents.  
  
"My high school friendships. Or rather, the end of such," he sounded as though he wanted to talk about it, but at the same time didn't.  
  
Youji moved so that he was laying down with his back against the headboard, Aya on top of him. He tucked the man's head under his chin and the silky crimson strands that were hair tickled at his neck. "You know you can talk to me, right?" He felt the nod. "Good," he twisted his head so that he could plant a kiss on Aya's forehead.  
  
The redhead began to tell the story, starting from Kaori's death.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Ne, Yuki?" Shuichi spoke tentatively, hating to disturb his lover while he was writing. The blond stopped typing, an indication that he could ask what it was he wanted to. "What do you think of that band, Tamashii no Ryoushi?"  
  
He set down his coffee mug after taking a sip, glancing at the pink-haired man. "What of them?" He said with his cool voice, finger tapping the 'hu' key.  
  
"Don't you think they're suspicious?" He jumped up from his seat and wandered over to the blond. He sat on the floor beside Yuki and stared up at him, watching for his reactions.  
  
Golden eyes disappeared as he shut his eyes, wondering why his young lover always had to pester him. "Considering the strange happenings around them, yes. However, since the police aren't involved, I don't think you should worry about it." The last sentence was to get him to go away, and something Yuki completely did not believe.  
  
Knowing he was lying about not needing to worry, Shuichi was tempted to persist. Only the fact that the blond started typing again, appearing to be in a very inspirational mood, kept him from continuing to bother him.  
  
He sighed, wishing his lover was in a more talkative mood. He snuck into bed, waiting for Yuki to retire for the night. He fell asleep before the blond finished, but at least he was there when he woke up.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Atsuro, wake up," Towa said, shaking the boy. He groaned and lifted his hand to cover his face. The light hurt. "Atsuro, you have school."  
  
The words produced another groan, as the redhead did not want to go. Then again, who ever did? He sat up, blanket falling down to show his bare chest. Towa smiled to him, thinking about how he used to have similar reactions. "C'mon, you have to at least finish high school, Atsuro."  
  
The red head sat up, nodded and groaning. "Didn't get much sleep," his voice was slurred but Towa had become an expert at translating the boy's morning speech. The blond just grinned and held out a cup of coffee and a chocolate chip muffin.  
  
"Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but hopefully the combination of sugar and caffeine will help you get through the day," he was thanked for the meal briefly before it began to disappear at a high-paced rate.  
  
Atsuro got up and grabbed his clothes before heading off to take a cold shower. Towa smiled and went back into the kitchen, pouring himself some coffee and pulling out the newspaper he had grabbed before waking up his friend. As he was going through some ads, Atsuro came in towel draped over his head as he weakly dried it with one hand, the other holding his school bag. His uniform was a wrinkled mess and Towa got up to straighten it.  
  
The redhead blushed, his face beginning to match his hair. Towa finished and looked up at him, staring at him intensely. They stayed like that for a few minutes until the blond noticed the time. "You should be leaving," he said in his calm voice, startling Atsuro.  
  
"R-Right. School. Uhmmm," the youth leaned forward and kissed Towa chastely on the lips before blushing even more ferociously. "I'll see you later, Towa!" He ran out the door, leaving a lightly blushing Towa behind.  
  
While the blond had been hoping for something like that, it was completely unexpected. He never imagined it would be Atsuro to kiss him first, but he was pleased none the less. He raised two fingers and tentatively brushed them across his lips before smiling and setting about his day. It was looking to be a great one.  
  
~*~*~  
  
"YOU IDIOTS," the chief screamed at the two investigative officers once again.  
  
"When will you EVER be on time?!"  
  
Ryo winced at the loud voice before turning to glare at Dee, whose fault it was that they were late, yet again. The dark-haired man just looked disinterested in what was going on, causing the chief to go off on another raging tangent that left the blond's ears ringing.  
  
When done, he slammed a manila folder down on the desk for the two to take. "Read this and get to work on it NOW! You lazy bastards! Get out and get to work!" He growled, turning around in his seat to try and relax himself.  
  
Ryo took the folder and left behind Dee, who was anxious to get out of the office. "Geez, you'd think that was the first time we were late with the way he acted."  
  
"If you would just TELL me when he calls for us instead of stalling, then suddenly 'remembering' he'd have less excuses to yell at us like that! Geez, Dee! You can be so irresponsible, you know that?" Ryo was exasperated, it had happened enough times to wear thin on his nerves. He was a patient man, normally, but this was getting out of control.  
  
Entering their office, Dee closed the door and pinned Ryo against the wall, leering at him. "Oh, come on, now, Ryo. You can't tell me you weren't enjoying that kiss. How about we pick up where we left off, hm?" He licked his lips suggestively and growled when he was pushed aside.  
  
Muttering under his breath, Randy made his way to his desk, still holding the folder. "We have work to do, Dee, don't you remember? That's why we got called into the chief's office. Honestly, now!"  
  
Dee rolled his eyes and snatched the folder from Ryo, leafing through the sheets boredly. His eyes widened as he noticed the location of the case. No wonder the chief was pissed, they'd be gone for so long and so far away, he would have to find someone to replace them for their absence. Ryo sighed and tried to get a look at what had caught his partner's interest before the man closed the folder.  
  
"Hey, Ryo?" His voice was curious.  
  
"Yeah?" Was the nervous reply, hating it when Dee appeared to be innocent about something.  
  
"How good is your Japanese?"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Kaori stomped around in her room, still furious. She could not believe the nerve of Ran, excuse me, Aya, for doing what he did. The man was never late to anything and his completely unapologetic attitude made it that much more frustrating. Did he not realize how important completing the mission was? Didn't he say he had been an assassin? One would think that would have taught him some ethic but no, of course not.  
  
She growled in frustration and continued stomping around before heading to the kitchen to cook. Cooking always helped relax her as she could think of nothing but her task if she did not want to mess up, and she hated spoiled food.  
  
As she gathered the ingredients for okonomiyaki, she thought about his attitude. He had the nerve to tell her to back-off when it was he who was in the wrong. A few minutes late is one thing, over an hour was inexcusable. And he looked like he had been sleeping, too, which was even worse. Especially since he only slept so much when depressed and had seemed fine enough before.  
  
Finding the last of the ingredients she would need, she paused in her actions to contemplate her train of thought. Now she found herself worrying about the often suicidal idiot, and started cursing herself for it. She had enough of the anxious feelings he stirred within her, causing her to be less than care-free. Life was enough, now that they were dead, she should not have to deal with him.  
  
She began cooking the Japanese-style pizza, ending her thoughts. It was bad when she got to worrying about him. Whenever he pushed her that far, it usually meant he was going to pull something stupid. Kaori had the feeling that she would have to be as relaxed as possible when that happened, to avoid joining him in his stunt.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Youji held the sleeping Aya close to him, stroking the red hair absent-mindedly as he thought about what he had been told. The reserved man had never confided in anything to him, and now he didn't know what to think about what he'd been told. No wonder it was hard to get the man to open up the slightest bit, though, if his best friends had been unable to tell silent grief from indifference.   
  
What he wanted to know, though, was why had the man not corrected his friends? Did he want them to leave him alone? Seeing as how it was Aya he was referring to, that was a possibility. The man always blamed himself for tragedies, and had a feeling he took Kaori's death to be his own failure. He probably wanted to distance himself from his friends so he would not cause them any further harm. Youji wondered, though, just how that had worked when he was declared dead before joining Kritiker. Had the man's friends attended his funeral, grieved the loss? Or did they decide not to, out of spite?  
  
The blond was filled with questions, and none of them he could really ask Aya. It bothered him, though, and he really wanted to know. He supposed he would have to question the man after all, despite how painful the prospect seemed. For now, though, he figured he should just enjoy the feel of the man in his arms. Things were looking good for him in some ways.  
  
Aya's body was a real, living one, even if the man was technically dead. While that seemed strange it made sense, in a warped, supernatural fashion. He had kissed and hugged the man and was not killed for his presumption, and assumed the man had feelings for him after all. He hoped he did, as when the redhead woke up, he was going to be met with confessions he probably had never thought he would hear.   
  
As for the redhead, he was in a dead sleep, no dreams as he was too tired for them. Mentally and emotionally he was drained, being with Kaori had got him to start acting like his old self and he had forgotten just how tiring dealing with feelings was. He was still very much like Abyssinian, but Ran had started resurfacing the slightest bit, more so than he had when Aya-chan had awakened from her coma.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Aya sat in school, staring blankly at the chalk board as the teacher droned on. She had decided to finish high school, as her body was still that of a 16 year old, so it wouldn't be so awkward. Since her brother had died, the rest of the boys had the flower shop had been doing their best to sustain her, and she appreciated their efforts, but was too stubborn to allow them to do so. She had taken up a job since she was technically 19, and used it to pay for her schooling.  
  
Thoughts of her brother always left her depressed, but she knew he wasn't gone. Despite the fact that he was dead, she knew that he would be seen again before she died. That thought always made her happy, although Aya had no idea why she was so sure of this. It was the only thing that kept her from falling into a depression, though, so she allowed herself the thoughts.  
  
Weiss was playing as a band in clubs for their new mission. Smiling at the thought of Youji singing and the others playing instruments, she decided to check it out one night. It might be fun, to go to a club, listen to live music, and mingle with normal people her age. High school was nice and all, but she found it too trivial, the false cheerfulness of the students too tiresome.  
  
On a piece of paper, she jotted down some words, trying to come up with lyrics. Ken had gone to her and asked her to come up with some songs for them after having found and read one of her poems. She had agreed, unable to refuse the handsome brunet, and wrote down whatever she could whenever inspiration struck her. Wrapped up in the work, she didn't hear the teacher calling on her to answer the question.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The same day as receiving the case files, Dee and Ryo were sent packing and to the airport. It was no wonder the chief was pissed, since they had a flight to catch and guns to get through security. It had been a long process, but they were finally on a plane to California, would stop for the night, then continue on to Japan.  
  
In the window seat was Dee, who had fallen asleep. Ryo sat next to him, reading a book he hadn't looked at in years. It was in Japanese, and he decided that he ought to refresh his memory on the language if they were going to that country. It was a good thing he was asked to learn both languages, and that his aunt had allowed him to continue with the language even after being put in her care.  
  
The dark-haired man rolled over so that his head was now resting on Ryo's shoulder. He blinked at the action, then mentally shrugged it off and continued reading his book, struggling through it as he recalled the kanji and every so often referred to the dictionary on his lap. His head tilted towards Dee's until the side of his face was resting on the top of his head.  
  
Deciding to give up for the moment and follow his partner's course of action, Ryo set the books back on the floor in the bag there and turned off the light above him. He returned his head to where it had been moments before and drifted off to sleep, a content smile on his face as he did so.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Well, hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get out (honestly, I haven't started it, but once I start, I have a tendency to get it finished quickly). ^_^;; Erm, yeah. I hope that was enjoyable enough, and I hope you enjoyed.  
  
(Little side note: I think the month of September is going to mark a new age of pain for me. In Jujitsu grappling, I refuse to give up. I'd rather pass out than say Matei or tap out….So, my Sensei is starting this deal: For the month of Sept. whoever gets me to tap out or give up during grappling, wins a month of free kenjutsu classes. Of course, if no one manages, then I get the month ^_~. So, I have a feeling my throat isn't going to be functioning properly this next month, so if I don't add more then….It's probably partially due to that. Oh, and I may have a sponser for martial arts! Wish me luck on that!! ^_^ Well, bai~!) 


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